


Compromise

by doublejoint



Series: peachtober 2020 [24]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:07:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27182896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doublejoint/pseuds/doublejoint
Summary: Shougo drinks milk straight from the carton.
Relationships: Haizaki Shougo/Kise Ryouta
Series: peachtober 2020 [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1953295
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	Compromise

**Author's Note:**

> #peachtober day 24: Carton

Ryouta is such a fucking hypocrite.

“That’s gross, Shougo-kun,” he says when Shougo drinks straight from the milk carton, crinkling his nose in a just-so way.

Shougo rolls his eyes, because it’s no grosser than leaving crumbs on the table or dirty clothes on the floor, which Ryouta absolutely does, and Shougo always has to fucking pick up after him because he’s the only one apparently bothered by it. (It’s also not as gross as leaving all his old lotion bottles in the bathroom, but he’d yelled at Shougo for clearing those out the one time he’d done it because he absolutely needed those bottles so he could buy replacements, because apparently he can’t remember brand names. Sometimes Shougo still brings that up, when Ryouta goes on the offensive.)

“If you start drinking whole milk, then I’ll stop, but since I’m the only one drinking it—”

“What if someone comes over?”

Shougo shrugs. “They don’t have to drink milk. I can say we don’t have any, or that it’s gone bad.”

“Lying is wrong.”

“Don’t fucking lecture me.”

Ryouta pouts, very pretty and he knows it (and that should ruin the effect). Shougo kisses him, long and slow and sloppy, until Ryouta pushes him off. As Ryouta heads for the door, Shougo thinks he should have tugged on his tie, needled him a little more, but the milk carton is still open on the counter. Shougo picks it up and noisily gulps down some more milk. Ryouta slams the front door behind him, and Shougo laughs. Worth it.

* * *

Shougo falls asleep in front of the TV, but in his defense it’s cold out and he’d gotten the blanket and it’s so nice and cozy. And Ryouta’s not there to distract him; Shougo had been watching him on some evening talk-show, actually, and he’ll admit that much. It’s always weird to see Ryouta’s public persona, happy and agreeable and sparkling like a firework that just won’t burn out. He’s not exactly low-energy most of the time, but he doesn’t ooze charm as if he’d applied that with all of his skincare products.

It’s always been so obviously fake, and Shougo used to wonder about that. He’s not a fucking genius; other people should be able to pick up on it, too. But there’s a degree of believing what you want to believe, and Shougo wants to see the worst in others--a lot of people want to see the best, or get a first impression and stick with it, shoving pegs in holes where they don’t fit but building nothing on that foundation so that it sways but never falls. Shougo’s the type of person to tear down the foundations even when they’re strong, or try to; he’s excellent at sabotage, and of course that extends to himself.

But Ryouta comes home, the TV makeup looking caked-on and obvious under the indoor lights, smelling like a free cologne sample, and settling himself under the covers with Shougo. Shougo’s only half-awake, and he’ll get blamed for Ryouta’s backache in the morning, but he’s too tired to move them, or make Ryouta do it.

* * *

They still play basketball, but mostly together against unsuspecting competitors. Sure, they’re tall; they’ve obviously got some muscle, but they’re not an obvious threat until they start playing, and Shougo’s fine with that. He’s been using it to his advantage since high school, really, when people stopped buying into his tough-guy shtick and he’d gotten rid of his cornrows--he doesn’t look like someone to cross easily, but he doesn’t look as vicious as he can be. (He will never tell Ryouta he’s got the right idea there, and it’s not like this is something he’d learned from Ryouta. He’d learned it on his own, thank you very much.)

It’s different, but not weird, to play with Ryouta instead of competing directly against him, but they’re still both trying to outdo each other. Ryouta dunks; Shougo dunks harder. Shougo steals; Ryouta steals the next possession and makes it look a little more slick. They’re copying and modifying back and forth, playing their own game, and Shougo would feel sorry for their competition if it wasn’t so easy to kick their asses.

* * *

Ryouta picks Shougo up from work when his agency sends him back in a cab and their schedules match up, rare but often enough that it’s never surprising. When you’ve been on your feet all day, not having to stand up on a subway ride or walk home, or sit down and then have to stand up all too soon, isn’t something Shougo’s going to turn his nose up at.

Even though he still smells like fry oil , Ryouta holds his hand and asks him how work was, after explaining and complaining about all the on-set stuff that Shougo doesn’t get but can’t say, at this stage, he doesn’t care about. He knows the appropriate places to nod, and if he zones out and Ryouta calls him on it, well, it’s been a long fucking day. 

Ryouta will say it all again, even the parts Shougo had listened to, and then pat his hair and tell him to get some sleep. Maybe it would seem patronizing to Shougo when he was younger, but he’s not that person anymore, even if he doesn’t need someone else to tell him he’s tired when he feels it so deeply in his own bones.

* * *

As long as Ryouta only drinks skim milk (as long as that’s the only kind he buys for himself) and Shougo doesn’t, Shougo’s going to drink out of the carton, or at least that’s the plan. Both cartons fit on the refrigerator door, and Shougo’s never going to drink skim (and Ryouta will probably never drink whole). But--how much extra work is it really to grab a glass from the dish rack or from the cabinet? Is it worth it to drink out of the carton just to annoy Ryouta?

For now, at least, it is, Shougo decides.

He always makes sure to do it in front of Ryouta, anyway.


End file.
